Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Powerful spring storm brings wind, thunder, snow to Minnesota starting Friday night

Highest severe risk favors SE Minnesota; much colder this weekend

Severe weather risk areas
Severe weather risk areas Friday evening
Twin Cities National Weather Service office

We’re still tracking a potent spring low-pressure system that’s winding up and aiming for Minnesota starting Friday evening. The system will bring a mixed bag of weather to different parts of our state into the weekend.

An increasingly warm wind flow ahead of the storm is boosting temperatures into the 60s Thursday across much of southern Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Friday looks like the warmest day of the year so far with 70s in the south.

Forecast high temperatures Friday
Forecast high temperatures Friday
NOAA

Friday night thunder

The first precipitation from this system will be an arc of rain and thunderstorms spinning north out of Iowa Friday evening.

On the map below, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model shows the likely progression of thunder cells fading as they move north into the Twin Cities between about 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday.

NOAA HRRR model
High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

Scattered rain and snow develop with snow favoring western Minnesota by Saturday morning.

Forecast models crank out a few inches of wind-whipped snow across western Minnesota this weekend. The Twin Cities is likely to see little snow.

NOAA NAM 3 km model snowfall
Snowfall projections
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

Temperatures in the 30s Sunday will moderate back into the 40s and 50s next week.